Drum type washing machine

ABSTRACT

A drum type washing machine is provided having a simplified drive unit support structure design and improved vibration dispersion characteristics. The washing machine includes a tub, a drum disposed inside the tub, a shaft coupled to the drum, a bearing supporting the shaft, a bearing housing supporting the bearing, and a base secured to the tub. The bearing housing has a rear end protruding from a rear wall of the tub, and the tub has an extension facing an outer peripheral surface of the rear end of the bearing housing.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a drum type washing machine, and more particularly to a drum type washing machine that includes a drive unit of improved construction.

BACKGROUND ART

Generally, a drum type washing machine is provided with a motor pulley and a drum pulley located below a tub, which has a drum rotatably disposed therein, such that a driving force of a motor is transmitted to the drum via a belt connecting the motor pulley and the drum pulley.

As such, since the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the drum via the belt, the conventional washing machine undergoes energy loss and produces a large amount of noise during energy and power transmission.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a drive unit of a conventional drum type washing machine.

Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional drum type washing machine includes a tub 10, a shaft 20 and a base 40. The tub 10 which has a drum (not shown) is located outside a bearing housing 30 that has a bearing B received therein to support a shaft 20, and the base 40 is coupled to the tub 10. In this drum type washing machine, the base 40 is formed corresponding to contours of the tub 10 and the bearing housing 30 to surround the tub 10 and the bearing housing 30. Therefore, the base 40 has a complicated shape.

In the conventional drum-type washing machine, it becomes difficult to couple together the components of the drive unit. This difficulty is due to the complicated shape of the base 40, in combination with the correspondingly complicated shape of a number of components of the drive unit, such as the tub 10, the bearing housing 30, and the base 40, which are formed corresponding to the shape of the base 40.

Further, the complicated shape results in distortion and other defections of products, which generally occur in manufacturing the components of the drive unit, including the tub 10, the bearing housing 30, and the base 40, thereby causing size and shape mismatch between the components. A large degree of bending of the complicated shape causes a correspondingly large distortion, which leads to a high frequency of manufacturing defects of the components for the drive unit. Therefore, there is a need for a drum type washing machine that overcomes these problems.

In order to solve these problems, a drum type washing machine has been developed which includes a direct connection construction wherein a shaft coupled to the drum is directly connected to a rotor to allow the driving force to be directly transmitted from the motor to the drum.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem

The present invention is conceived to solve the problems of the conventional apparatus and corresponding manufacturing techniques as described above, and an aspect of the present invention is to provide a drum type washing machine that includes components of simplified configuration for a drive unit to reduce the frequency of manufacturing defects in the components of the drive unit. It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a drum type washing machine capable of dispersing vibration of the drive unit.

Technical Solution

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a drum type washing machine includes: a tub; a drum disposed inside the tub; a shaft coupled to the drum; a bearing supporting the shaft; a bearing housing supporting the bearing; and a base secured to the tub, wherein the bearing housing has a rear end protruding from a rear wall of the tub, and the tub has an extension facing an outer peripheral surface of the rear end of the bearing housing.

The tub extension may closely contact the outer peripheral surface of the rear end of the bearing housing. By such a configuration of the tub extension, which is adapted to closely contact the outer peripheral surface of the rear end of the bearing housing, a contact area between the tub and the bearing housing becomes enlarged by the area of the extension. As a result, vibration is transmitted through the bearing housing allowing dispersion of the vibration. In addition, the enlarged contact area provides a supporting force with respect to the bearing housing.

Further, the tub extension may have a bent distal end configured to surround the rear end of the bearing housing. This configuration of the tub extension can prohibit dust or moisture from entering a gap between the bearing housing and the tub.

Further, the base may have a rear end facing an outer peripheral surface of the tub extension. The rear end of the base may be secured to the tub so as not to directly contact the bearing housing. Further, the rear end of the base is preferably configured to closely contact the outer peripheral surface of the tub extension so as to disperse vibration transmitted through the bearing housing while supporting the tub extension.

Moreover, the bearing housing is preferably formed by insert-injection into the tub.

Advantageous Effects

As apparent from the above description, the drum type washing machine according to the present invention includes a base of simple configuration, resulting in reduced manufacturing costs while improving manufacturing productivity.

Further, according to the present invention, since the base has a simple configuration, it is possible to reduce the frequency of manufacturing defects of the base and frequency of mismatch between components for a drive units, both of which can be caused by distortion and other defects of the base.

Further, according to the present invention, a contact area between a tub and a bearing housing becomes enlarged by the area of an extension, so that vibration transmitted through the bearing housing can be dispersed. Such dispersion of vibration leads to reduction in external force transmitted to components of the washing machine, thereby preventing damage of components, such as the tub and the like.

Further, according to the present invention, the base is configured to support the extension of the tub, thereby suppressing and dispersing vibration of the drive unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a drive unit of a conventional drum type washing machine; and

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a drive unit of a drum type washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Herein, the drawings may be exaggerated in thickness of lines or scale of components for the purpose of descriptive convenience and clarity only. Furthermore, terms used herein should be defined in consideration of functions of components of the present invention and thus can be changed according to the custom or intention of users or operators. Therefore, definition of such terms should be determined according to overall disclosures set forth herein.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a drive unit of a drum type washing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the drum type washing machine includes a tub 110, a shaft 120, a bearing B, a bearing housing 130, and a base 140.

In the drum type washing machine according to this embodiment, the tub 110 is disposed in a housing (not shown) constituting the appearance of the washing machine, and has a drum 150 rotatably disposed therein to receive laundry.

The shaft 120 is axially connected to the drum 150 to transmit a driving force of a motor (not shown) to the drum 150. The bearing B is located at an outer surface of the shaft 120, and serves to support the shaft 120 within the tub 110. Specifically, the bearing B is supported by the bearing housing 130, and the bearing housing 130 is formed on a rear wall of the tub 110. The bearing housing 130 is formed by insert-injection upon injection-molding the tub 110. At this time, the bearing housing 130 may be formed by insert-injection with the same material as that of the tub 110 or different material therefrom. When the same materials are used to form both the tub 110 and the bearing housing 130, the property in which both of the materials have the same melting point enables the bearing housing 130 to be formed integrally with the tub 110 by injection molding. In an alternative embodiment, the tub 110 may be formed of plastics, and the bearing housing 130 may be formed of a metallic material such as an aluminum alloy. In this embodiment, each of the bearing housing 130 and the tub 110 is preferably formed of a single material selected from plastics, metals, and metal alloys.

The tub 110 includes an extension 111 configured to face an outer peripheral surface (end face) 132 of a rear end 134 of the bearing housing 130. Preferably, the extension 111 is configured to closely contact the end face 132 of the rear end 134 of the bearing housing 130. At this time, the extension 111 may entirely or partially contact the end face 132 of the rear end 134 of the bearing housing 130. As such, the extension 111 is configured to face both an outer periphery of the rear end 134 and the end face 132 of the rear end 134 of the bearing housing 130, so that a contact area between the tub 110 and the bearing housing 130 becomes enlarged by the area of the extension 111. This arrangement allows dispersion of vibration transmitted through the bearing housing 130 while providing a supporting force with respect to the bearing housing 130. When the vibration transmitted to the bearing housing 130 is dispersed by such a configuration, the bearing housing 130 or the tub 110 can be prevented from being damaged even after a long period of use.

The extension 111 has a bent section 112 formed at one end to surround at least a portion of the rear end face 132 of the bearing housing 130. The bent end 112 of the extension 111 can prevent dust or moisture from entering a gap between the bearing housing 130 and the tub 110.

The base 140 is secured to the tub 110 by means of a fastener (not shown) and the like, and has a rear end 142 shaped to conform to the shape of, and to face the outer peripheral surface of, the extension 111. It should be noted that the rear end 142 of the base 140 does not extend to cover the bent section 112 of the extension 111. The rear end 142 of the base 140 is formed so as to not directly contact the bearing housing 130, but preferably to closely contact the outer peripheral surface of the extension 111 in order to disperse vibration transmitted through the bearing housing 130 while supporting the extension 111. At this time, the rear end 142 of the base 140 may partially or entirely contact the outer peripheral surface of the extension 111. Further, since the rear end 142 of the base 140 is formed to face the extension 111, the bent section of the base 140 has a reduced area as compared to a conventional base 40. The reduced size and altered shape of the bent section of the base 140 is advantageous since it allows convenient installation and coupling of the base 140, and simplifies the shape of the base 140, thereby improving manufacturing productivity. In addition, to prevent creation of a gap between the tub 110 and the bearing housing 130 or separation of the bearing housing 130 from the tub 110, the extension 111 of the tub 110 and the rear end of the bearing housing 130 are preferably formed at coupling portions therebetween with a protrusion and a depression, respectively. Since injected material is induced into the protrusion or the depression during injection molding, an interlocking force between the tub 111 and the bearing housing 130 is enhanced.

Furthermore, while the bearing housing 130 and the tub 110 are formed by injection molding, the base 140 is separately produced and coupled to a contoured section of the tub 110. Accordingly, the base 140 has a simple configuration, which reduces the frequency of manufacturing defects related to distortion and other problems of the components for the drive unit in manufacture of the washing machine. Moreover, the present invention can reduce not only the frequency of manufacturing defects in manufacture of the base 140, but also reduce frequency of mismatch with respect to the tub 110, which are caused by the distortion and other defects of the components, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while improving manufacturing productivity.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings, the embodiments and drawings are given by way of illustration only, and, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should be limited only by the accompanying claims. 

1. A drum type washing machine, comprising: a tub; a drum disposed inside the tub; a shaft coupled to the drum; a bearing supporting the shaft; a bearing housing supporting the bearing; and a base secured to the tub, wherein the bearing housing has a rear end protruding from a rear wall of the tub, and the tub has an extension facing an outer peripheral surface of the rear end of the bearing housing.
 2. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the extension closely contacts the outer peripheral surface of the rear end of the bearing housing.
 3. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the extension has a bent distal end which surrounds the rear end of the bearing housing.
 4. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the base has a rear end facing an outer peripheral surface of the extension.
 5. The washing machine according to claim 4, wherein the rear end of the base is secured to the tub so as to not directly contact the bearing housing.
 6. The washing machine according to claim 5, wherein the rear end of the base is configured to closely contact the outer peripheral surface of the extension.
 7. The washing machine according to claim 1, wherein the bearing housing is formed by insert-injection into the tub.
 8. The washing machine according to claim 1 wherein the base comprises a rear end, and wherein the extension is disposed between the rear end of the base and the rear end of the bearing housing.
 9. A drum type washing machine, comprising: a tub; a drum disposed inside the tub; a shaft coupled to the drum; a bearing which supports the shaft; a bearing housing supporting the bearing; and a base secured to the tub, wherein the bearing housing has a rear end protruding through a rear wall of the tub, and a rear end portion of the tub is shaped to at least partially confront an end face of the rear end of the bearing housing.
 10. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the extension contiguously confronts the end face of the rear end of the bearing housing.
 11. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the extension has a bent distal end which surrounds the end face of the bearing housing.
 12. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the base has a rear end which confronts an outer peripheral surface of the extension.
 13. The washing machine according to claim 12, wherein the rear end of the base is secured to the tub so as to not directly contact the bearing housing.
 14. The washing machine according to claim 13, wherein the rear end of the base is configured to contiguously confront the outer peripheral surface of the extension.
 15. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the bearing housing is formed by insert-injection into the tub.
 16. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the base comprises a rear end, and wherein the extension is disposed between the rear end of the base and the rear end of the bearing housing. 